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I make games! Mostly weird ones.

Hello all, it’s been a while since I’ve updated information about my second game. Progress is being made, it’s just that I’m taking a rather different approach to the game design this time around. Instead of working on a preexisting framework, such as Inner Vision simply being a visual novel, I’m experimenting with different types of gameplay.

With Inner Vision, the story was presented through a visual novel format. For game #2, the story is being experienced by the player through playing the game. No words, just playing. Sure, there will be a menu with words, but I’m trying very hard for the game and story line to flow together really well.

Game #2 is more of an experiment than an actual game. I’m trying different techniques and putting a lot more time into making the game itself contain a narrative rather than just laying it out on the table. In a way, this is my response to a lot of games these days that have such explicit stories. Hell, Inner VIsion’s story was very explicit. One of video games’ strengths is in its interactivity. With this interaction comes gameplay, and through this gameplay we are able to embed an underlying, subtle story.

Since I’m on break for the summer, I’ve been reading a lot (currently, Walden by Henry Thoreau and Gilead by Marilynne Robinson), and one thing I’ve noticed is how cleverly writers express themes and motifs through their writing. For example, novelists disguise philosophies in their characters, and portray the clash of ideals through the interactions with said characters. It takes practice and skill to get that good at writing, so why not for games? As stated previously, I’ve been spending most of my time on designing the game itself rather than programming. Instead of disguising ideals with writing, I’m disguising ideals with gameplay.

I’ll continue on this crazy development process and see where it takes me. Until next time.